Tape slitting machine



April 6, 1965 E. BOWKER ETAL TAPE SLIT'IING MACHINE Filed Nov. 7, 1962IN VEN TORS BOWKER '.ERVN BYERVIN BOWKER JR.

find-w M ATTORNEYS FIG.2

United States Patent 3,176,555 TAPE SLITTING MA Ervin Bowker, 37 WarrenAve., Tiverton, 11.1., and Ervin Bowker, :2, 31 Highland Road, Swansea,Mass. Filed Nov. 7, 1962, Ser. No. 236,033 4 Claims. (Cl. 83-28) Thisinvention relates to a slitting machine for Webs or tapes which webs ortapes may or may not have an adhesive surface.

Heretofore, in the slitting of webs or tape, the tape has been supportedbetween spaced supports such as rolls, and the slitting knife or kniveshave been made to cut through the web or tape between these two spacedpoints of support. In so doing, the knife projects from one side of thetape and is unsupported on the other side of the tape, thus giving riseto the posibility of either the tape or the knives varying somewhat froma straight line path with reference to the tape so that the tape has awavy or fuzzy edge, and this is especially prominent when the knives aresomewhat dull.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a method andapparatus for cutting which will avoid the wavy edge or fuzzy edge whichhas heretofore occurred.

Another object of this invention is to better support the relativeposition of the knives and the web or tape which is to be cut thereby sothat a straight line tnavel of the web or tape with reference to theknives may be had.

More specifically, an object of this invention is to support the cuttingknife on both sides of the tape and provide a surface to well supportthe tape so that an accurate or precision cutting may be had.

Another object of the invention where tape has an adhesive surface isthe utilization of the adhesive surface for holding the tape in positionwith reference to the knives.

A further object of the invention is to utilize the adhesive surface ofthe tape for feeding the tape to and from the location of the cut bysome tnaveling surface on either one or both sides of the location ofthe out.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction as will be more fully described andparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevation looking at the front of the machine;

FIG. 2 is an end view looking at the right-hand end of 7 FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view on a larger scale and on substantially line35-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a greatly enlarged sectional view showing a knife penetratingthe tape backup roll.

In proceeding with this invention, we have utilized a driven surface oneither side of the location of cutting of the web to drive the webthrough the location of the performance of the cutting action, and thelocation of cutting action we have provided a traveling surface which issoft and resilient to support the tape, and we have applied cutters tothe tape at this location so as to cut through the tape and into thissoft resilient surface to provide a track therein for each of thecutters which are utilized. Thus each cutter snugly fits its track and,being of a thin character, passes through the web and into this trackwhere it is guided on either side by the walls of the track so that aperfectly straight line cut is performed in the web.

With reference to the drawings, 19 designates a base of the machine uponwhich there is mounted an upright supporting plate 11 such as by meansof a groove 12 into which the plate fits and is secured by the passageof screws 13 through the walls of the slot 12. A shaft 14 is mount-3,175,555 Patented Apr. 6, 1965 ed in a suitable hearing 15 in the plate11, and this shaft is driven by a sprocket chain 16 extending oversprocket gear on shaft 14 and also over sprocket gear on shaft 17 driventhrough a reduction gear in casing 18 from an electric motor 19 so as toprovide a source of power for the main shaft 14. Upon this shaft 14 adrum 20 is fixed to be driven by this shaft, which is the main feedingdrum of the machine.

The back-up surface for the tape may be any traveling surface but ishere illustrated as a back-up roll 21 which is mounted upon a shaft 22at such location that the surface of the back-up roll 21 is spaced fromthe surface of the drum 2%). This roll 21 consists of a metal core 23having a soft resilient covering 24 embracing the same and fixedlysecured thereto. This roll 21 is motuited to loosely revolved upon thisshaft 22 which is reduced at its outer end as at 25 and provided with acollar 26 having set screw 27 to prevent the roll from moving off theend of shaft 22. Although this back-up roll is loosely mounted on theshaft 22 for rotation, it might be driven at the same surface speed asthe drum 20 should occasion require.

A cutting unit designated generally 30 is mounted on the plate 11 abovethis roll on an arm 31 which is pivoted as at 32 on the plate 11 andwhich may swing about this pivot to different locations where it may beheld by means of slot 33 and screw 34 with washer 35 beneath its headwhich screw 34 is threaded into the plate 11 and serves to bind the armin adjusted position at any location along this slot. Upon this arm 31there is mounted a plurality of cutting blades 36, which in this presentinstance are seven Gillette razor blades, with spacing units 37 betweenthese blades. We have here illustrated seven of such blades to provideeight strips of material from the web fed in. These blades are held insecure position by a plurality of screws 38, 41 passing through openingsin the blades and into the mounting blocks 39 and 40 which are securedto the arm 31. In the operation of the machine the arm 31 is swung aboutits pivot 32 so as to cause the cutting blades 36 to enter the surfaceof the soft material 24 (see FIG. 4) such as rubber or rubber-likematerial of the roll 21 and provide its own track therein with oppositewalls 42 and 43 which will snugly engage the opposite side walls 44 and45 of the cutting blade and thus serve to guide it. It will beunderstood that the blades may be rotary disks if desired.

A web supply package 50 is mounted for rotation through some sort of afriction clutch so as to control the same by means of some tension, andthe web or tape 51 is lead from this supply package to the feeding drum2t) beneath the idler roll 52. In some cases where the tape has noadhesive, the idler will be adjusted to provide a long are of engagementto establish sufiicient friction for feeding the tape. In this case thetape has an adhesive surface which adhesive surface faces away from theroll 52 so that the adhesive surface will engage the surface of the feeddrum 20 along the short arc 53 thereof. The web will leave this surfaceof this feed drum and extend along the portion of its travel 54 to theback-up roll 21 and thence pass along the surface of the back-up rollwith its tacky surface in engagement with this backup roll to preventlateral slipping and beneath the cutters 36. From the cutters the webwill extend along the portion of its travel 55 back to the surface ofthe feeding drum along the arcuate section 56 thereof, which sections 55and 56 of the tape will be at that point slit into a plurality ofstrips, in this case eight, there being seven cutters provided, and thenthe strips will be separated, alternate strips being passed about theidler roll 57 to the take-up roll 58 while intermediate the stripspassing beneath idler roll 57 there will be other strips passing aboutthe idler roll 59 and thence to the take-up package 60. Each of theseidler rolls is mounted upon brackets 61 slotted as at 62 and secured invarious positions of adjustment by reason of screw 63 holding a washer64 against the bracket which forces the bracket against the plate 11.Here again the idler rolls 57 and 59 may be adjusted as to position toprovide a longer are 56 to establish sufiioient friction for feedingof'the tape through the cutters. Each of the take-up rolls 58 and 69 isdriven by a sprocket chain 65 embracing sprocket gears 65 on shaft 67upon which take-111p roll 58 is secured and embracing sprocket gear 68upon shaft 69 upon which take-up roll 60 is mounted, this sprocket chain65 extends over a take-up idler 75 and is driven by embracing a sprocketgear on shaft 14 which is the main drive shaft of the machine. Each ofthese take-up rolls is driven through friction clutches 70 and 71adjusted as to spring tension so as to maintain the same driving forceon each of the take-up rolls although allowing some slippage to occur asthe packages build up in diameter. A suitable toggle switch at 72 may beprovided for control of the motor 19 to stop and start the same.

We claim:

1. In a tape slitting machine a back-up roll, a cutter extending intosaid roll, means to feed a tape from a support to said back-up roll andsaid same means assisting in feeding from the back-up roll to a take-upreel, said means to feed comprising a drum of a greater diameter thansaid back-up roll and in close proximity to and spaced from the back-uproll whereby the tape may engage the surface of said drum for a segmentof its surface, then extend from the drum to the back-up roll and thenreturn to the drum to engage a segment of its surface.

'of thin fixed knives laterally spaced with reference to thelongitudinal travel of the tape, and a plurality of cuts are performedat the same time.

4. The method of slitting tape which is adhesive on one surface andwhich comprises supporting the tape on a relatively soft rotary surface,feeding the tape to and from the soft surface by an advancing surface towhich the adhesive surface of the tape will adhere and slitting the tapeby passing a thin fixed knife through the tape and into the soft rotarysupporting surface to form a track therein.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 878,533 2/08Johnstone 83-425 1,225,326 5/17 Hahl et a1. 83-345 X 1,996,176 4/35Smith 83-509 2,007,731 7/35 Tomlin 83-345 X 2,552,674 5/51 'I-Iaran83-434 2,593,388 4/52 Littman 242-564 FOREIGN PATENTS 503,493 7/30Germany.

ANDREW R. JUHASZ, Primaly Examiner.

LEON PEAR, Examiner.

4. THE METHOD FOR SLITTING TAPE WHICH IS ADHESIVE ON ONE SURFACE ANDWHICH COMPRISES SUPPORTING THE TAPE ON A RELATIVELY SOFT ROTARY SURFACE,FEEDING THE TAPE TO AND FROM THE SOFT SURFACE BY AN ADVANCING SURFACE TOWHICH THE ADHESIVE SURFACE OF THE TAPE WILL ADHERE AND SLITTING THE TAPEBY PASSING A THIN FIXED KNIFE THROUGH THE TAPE AND INTO THE SOFT ROTARYSUPPORTING SURFACE TO FORM A TRACK THEREIN.